Evans leads NC State to upset of No. 17 Florida State

Oct 6, 2006 - 4:00 AM
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Daniel Evans knows he can
depend on John Dunlap when the game is on the line.

In just his second career start, Evans threw for three
touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to Dunlap, as North
Carolina State rallied for a 24-20 victory over 17th-ranked
Florida State in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.

Andre Brown rushed for 119 yards on 18 carries for the Wolfpack
(3-2, 2-0 ACC Atlantic), who defeated the Seminoles (3-2, 1-2
Atlantic) for the second straight season.

Under pressure earlier this season, NC State coach Chuck Amato
improved to 4-3 in his career against mentor Bobby Bowden.

On September 23, Evans found Dunlap in the back of the end zone
with just eight seconds remaining in a thrilling 17-15 win over
then-No. 20 Boston College. On Thursday, the two hooked up a
little earlier.

After Evans cut the Wolfpack's deficit to 20-17 early in the
third quarter with a 10-yard TD pass to Geron James, he found a
leaping Dunlap in the zone for a 12-yard score with 10:36
remaining to cap an eight-play, 58-yard drive.

"It's a pretty neat experience, but it's not just me, it's not
just a single person on the team," said Evans, who threw for 190
yards without a turnover. "It's everybody pulling together.
That's what did it. We could have collapsed, we could have
thrown in the towel after Southern Miss, but here we are."

North Carolina State fell to Southern Mississippi a week before
stunning Boston College.

DaJuan Morgan intercepted Drew Weatherford with 2:07 left to
seal the win for the Wolfpack. The turnover was caused by
Garland Heath's deflection.

Weatherford completed 16-of-29 attempts for 249 yards and two
touchdowns for Florida State.

NC State took a 7-3 lead 3:03 into the second quarter when Evans
found Donald Bowens for a 16-yard score. The Wolfpack then
made Florida State settle for a field goal with 9:27 remaining
before the half due to pass deflection by linebacker Patrick
Lowery, preventing a wide-open Brandon Warren from hauling in
the catch.

However, the Seminoles went ahead, 13-7, with 3:12 to go before
halftime when Chris Davis held on to a 33-yard toss from
Weatherford.

The Wolfpack faced a 13-10 hole at the break.

Amato's decision to go for it on 4th-and-goal on the FSU 1
backfired when Toney Baker was stuffed at the goal line.
Weatherford capped the ensuing 14-play, 99-yard march with a
12-yard strike to Warren for a 10-point cushion with 3:02 left
in the quarter.